Sustaining the Prophets - Experience in Writing this Talk
Prior to President Dallin H. Oak’s remarks at BYU, I was blessed with the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting just two days prior. When the message requesting that I speak came-in, it had not been publicly anounced that President Oaks would be speaking here at BYU. I received the message two weeks in advance due to both of our failures to recognize that the date scheduled for my speaking assignment was on fast-sunday; once that detail was realized, my talk was pushed forward to next week. Then came the announcement that President Oaks would be giving a devotional. I go into all of this detail because, the topic I was assigned was “following the prophet”—little did we know we’d be blessed to hear his words just two days after the talks were given.
In my prayerful preperation of this address, I received a few very distinct promptings. Without a shadow of a doubt, the Holy Spirit was illuminating my mind and understanding to very specific topics and resources I must consult to. I spent most of my Saturday refining and ensuring that this talk captured the Lord’s will. When I reviewed it Sunday morning, I noticed that it was quite a bit shorter than I thought would cover the time I’ve been allotted. However, after consideration and review I felt that it was not needful to expand it.
The sacrament service was wonderful, we had the blessing of hearing from two speakers prior to me. The first of which took a great deal of time with his message, so I was left with just five minutes to spare at the end of the meeting. The delivery of this message was truly remarkable, I can only credit what took place on that pulpit soley to God. As I read through it, I felt very distinctly and clearly the Holy Spirit lead me to the core message the Lord would have me give. Within seconds or even fractions of seconds, it was revealed to me what paragraphs and details I should skip as I delivered the message. Following the Spirit in the pacing of the message, I never felt that I was speed-reading—and yet, I am amazed with how much the Lord delivered through me in just five minutes. It was a moving experience.
Tuesday quickly rolled around and I was truly blessed to find a seat at the devotional. It was a glorious sight to behold, thousands of students lined up seeking to hear a prophets words, crowding parking lots, streets, roads, all around the Marriot Center. When his devotional began, I started to recognize very familiar patterns in his message and in mine. By the end of the devotional, I was speechless. Capturing in words what I felt then, in that moment, is quite beyond my ability. But I seek to convey it best I can—our messages matched so well, that I could not deny the reality that these are truly the prophetic words and council of the Lord to us today. I would be denying reality by saying this was a coincidence, it certainly was not!
It was truly a humbling and remarkable experience that gave me an undeniable witness of President Dallin H. Oak’s prophetic calling as prophet, seer, and revelator. It also has given me witness that when we truly live and seek the words of Jesus Christ, we will be fully unified with what the Lord’s Apostles and Prophets are teaching. I hope that I never forget this experience, I’ve had similar like unto it, but never so clear as was this one.